Improvement in bee-hives



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM n. CLARK, or PIQUA, orIIo.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

.Tov all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R; CLARK, of Piqua, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful .'-Improvements in Bee-Hives; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part ot this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective `view ofv a bee-hive embodying` my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical I section of the same, illustrating the form of -the bottom or platform, hereinafter more particularly referred to. Fig'. 3 is a detached per,`

spectve view` of a device for Ventilating and closing the hive.' Y

' Q .Similar letters of fei'eenee indicate corre- :sponding parts inthe several figures.v

:.1 '..ilhachief ohject'. oflthis. invention isLQ..I EO-. ,.ducef a hive which, while'having novel prog visions for insuring the eil'ectual and uninterruptedwork of the ybees is made capable, by the employment of peculiar devices, of being enlarged or diminished with facility and expedition, and also of having a portion of it vdetached for the purpose' of forming additional swarms. v

The invention further includes the employment; of a novel device for Ventilating the hive, this device also serving to close the Ventilating aperture in the cold season, all as v will be hereinafter fully-explained.

' In order that others skilled in the art to which my inventionapertains may be enabled to .fully understan and use the same, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. d

The hive proper is formed in sections a, of which there may he any desirable number.' These sections are each composed of three strips of wood, whichare so attached as to form three sides of a square, and which are` the sections u, as. clearly'shown" in the drawn the extremity of the clamps, a shoulder being thus formed at this end, but at the other end said slot extends entirely to the extremity, and at this end last spoken of the clamp is provided with an aperture, a', into which may be inserted a key, a?, which, when inserted,als o occupies an aperture or key-hole in the section at' the end of the hive, the section at the other y gend of the hive being cut away and dovetailed.

at each side to conform to the termination of the slots in the clamps A. Thus the clamps may -be applied without diiculty, and securely retained by the keys a2. By withdraw' ing the keys a2 the clamps Amay bedetach d from the sections to admit of the removal of a section or sections for the purpose ofdividing the bees and stocking new hives to avoid the loss incurred in the natural swarming, new sectionsl being substituted for tl1ose` taken away, or the hive undergoing a diminution in size, according to the number of sections removed. The upper horizontal portions of the sections a and thosewhich constitute the top of the hive are made. narrower than the side strips of the sections, so that while the vlatter vpassage of bees,`for the purpose to he presi ently explained. At their lower ends the side pieces of the sections a rest upon the horizontal strips C C, secured to the bottom pieces, D D, which latter are joined to theJ platform or bottom, B. This platform B slopes or inclines from the center toward the apertures or openings bb', as shownin Fig. 2. This causes allfilth and refuse to have a 'tendency to pass out ofthe hive as soon as deposited, and adapts the same to be cleansed with ease of any mat- 'ter which may accumulate. The sides of the hive are closed' bystationary pieces E E and adjustable pieces E2, behind which latter may be inserted panes of glass to admit of the inspectio'n of the hive when desired, the pieces E2 being held in position by buttons e. To the lower ends ofthe side pieces of the sections a is attached a slat door, c, between which are spaces c', through which the filth passes into the platform B. l i

The size ofthe aperture b, through which the bees have ingress and egress, may be varied to 4any required extent bythe slides b2 b2.

vThese slides being brought'together entirely close the passage b and prevent the beesv from 1 end provided with slots to adapt them to take passing out in winter and the predatory incursions of vermin.

The aperture b forms j the ventilating medium, and may be closed by either the gauze or gratingj' or the shutter" j", both of which are attached to the piece F. The ends of this piece F are so formed that it may beinserted in notches in the pieces'D in two positionsso as to bring either the gratingf or lshutterf over the opening b, and hence by merely reversing the position of this piece the hive may be ventilated in warm weather or entirely closed in the winter. The gauze or grating f, while admitting ot' free circulation of air throughout the hive, is adapted to exclude vermin, insects, ne. j

grepresents the sections whereof a separate apartment or honeylbox is composed. This` box` is mounted upon the hive proper, c, and is designed to contain the honey which is to be removed from time to time for use. The parts of the sections are connected together inthe same manner as the Sections of with the edges of the upper'A horizontal strip of each section projecting outward beyond the side pieces, in order to afford a ready hold for the hand when any of the sections are being vi einoved, which isv done either for the purpose-of taking honey when the same has been accumulated to a sufficient extent to justify its removal or to supply the bees with food when the' stock has become exhausted. in the winter. It i's apparent that by this contrivance honey may be removedi'rom or supplied-to the honey-box with the greatest facility. The sides of this honey-bon are closed or. boarded up in any suitable manner, and behind the adjustable piecesG are panes of glass, through which the condition ot' the interior of the honey-box may be readily ascertained. The pieces G are heldv in position by buttons g. The honey-box occupies a position between the clamps A A, and the sections gare secured together by bars Gf G', which are fastened to one of the 2 A filmer outer sections, `t/,at oncend, and at the other over and be secured to catches h. (One shown).

Near the lower ends of the verticali pieces ot' the sections g are attached-'combsupporters g2, which have spaces g3 between them that communicate with the spaces between the upper horizontal pieces of the sections c of the hive. of the sections g project below the eombsupporters g2, so that between the honey-box g and hive a there is a lshaliow chamber., g4, which affords communication for the bees from front to rear of the hive. .The horizontal pieces of the sections g and those of the sections c are provided with suitable comb-guides to prevent the bees from working diagonally or from so tbrming their comb that it wili be "supported within two of the frames, o or g,

instead of within one.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desireA to secure by Letters Patent: j

' l. The sectional hive a, when provided with the sloping platform B and secured togetherv by the grooved clamps A, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein set forth.

.2. The combined ventilator and shutter F f f', constructed in the manner described, and employed to permitair to freeiycirculate throughout the4 hive: in. summenor to close.

the same in winter, as explained. i y,

3. In combination Vwith a hive, d, and its appurtenances, constructed .as herein described, the sectional honeybox g, heid togethcr by the bars G', and having a shaliow i chamber, g4, between its comb-supporters y2 and the top ofthe hive, substantiallyr ashercin specified.

WILLAM R. CLARK. Witnesses: d, F. IMCKINNEY, S. S. MCKINNEY.

The ends ot' the verticai pieces. 

